A ragú based around Tony’s sausage from his market down the street comprised of onions, parsnips, green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, a bit of beef broth, dash of pasta water, oregano, and bay leaf. Served along with the house-made tagliolini that is obviously comprised of flour and eggs, and I add a dash of salt and olive oil. Oregano and pecorino to top.

Wine: G.D. Vajra Langhe Nebbiolo 2015

Notes: Now that I live in Boston, I’m taking advantage of the major cultural staple of being able to walk into some market owned by an elderly Italian person and wish that they were your grandparent. For me, Tony’s Market, appropriately owned by a guy named Tony who is between 80 and 150 years old and is still making the sausages, is just down the street. Anyway, I wanted nothing more than to cook and drink some wine after being up since 3:30am that morning for a major system update for work and this really hit the spot. A comfort meal at it’s finest with a beautiful wine to boot. I originally planned to add a little heat in the form of red pepper flakes and either some clove or nutmeg, but I was on a severe lack of sleep so those accidentally got left out. Next time…

I know you’re probably being inundated with what you should/absolutely/must have for the best/most exciting/most extravagant Thanksgiving this year for wine and food and I promise I will not do that to you. Instead, I’m just going to tell you what I’m going to have. As a bonus, I’m even throwing in the recipes. What?!?!? Aaron is giving us recipes? That’s right. I’m going all mainstream on you. Not just listing the ingredients like I normally do and making you figure it out, but actual recipes that you could follow if you wanted to do that sort of thing.

This year I’ve decided on a South by Southwest theme. No, not the festival in Austin, but southern and southwestern cooking mixed together. My mother grew up in the south, my father in the southwest…so meta. Anyway, as always, if you want advice, send me an e-mail with what you’re having and I’ll help you pick out some wines. Happy early Thanksgiving!

Toast all the spices in a skillet until they are aromatic, then put all of the ingredients in a stock pot and simmer until the salt is dissolved and the fennel has softened a bit (10-15 minutes). Let the brine cool, put your turkey in and cover it for at least 12 hours. Before you’re ready to pop it in the oven, remove from the brine and pat dry. Preheat the oven to 400F Then add the rub.

Mix all ingredients together and rub all of your turkey. Get it mostly under the skin. Yes, your hands will get dirty. You can wash them later.
Pop that bird in the oven at 400F for 30minutes. Hopefully, you have a meat thermometer.
Turn the heat down to 325F and continue to cook for 1 hour.
If you have the time, turn the heat down to 250F and cook until the white meat is 165F or the dark meat is 175F, otherwise just leave it at 325 and your bird will finish up within another hour. If you want to get crazy, go ahead and baste the turkey with the drippings that fall every 1/2 hour or so. Expect your total cooking time to go up a little when you do this though since heat is escaping the oven. On to the sides!

Green Chilies Sauce (Replacement gravy)

2 cans green chilies
½ quart cream
Salt/pepper

Put the first two ingredients in a saucepot and raise to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Make 10 minutes before you serve all the food. For the advanced user, instead of the canned goods, go ahead and get 4 poblano peppers. Stick them on the grill with the corn until all sides are blistered and blackened. Then slide them into a sealed container or bag for a few minutes so they steam up a bit. Peel off all the skin, then slice and dice. Voilá. Your own chilies.

Trivia for the dinner table: The spelling “Chili” refers to any member of the Capsicum family, many of which are used in cooking. This can also be used to reference the dish which football fans love during the fall. It can also be spelled as “Chile” or “Chilli”. The “correct” spelling is debatable. However, the country of Chile would like to insist everybody spell their name as is. I have seen this embarrassment in grocery stores and wine shops in which they spell the country of Chile, “Chili”.

Hot Sauced Brussel Sprouts

Clean, slice of the stems, and halve the brussel sprouts then toss them with the olive oil. Roast those bad boys at around 350 for 15-20 minutes until the edges get brown. Meanwhile heat up the butter to melting point and mix it with the hot sauce and oregano. Once the sprouts are done roasting, toss them in the hot sauce mixture. Enjoy the ensuing mouth-gasm.

Grilled ears of corn

4 ears of corn
Soak. Pat dry. Grill.

Soak whole ears of corn for 20 minutes in water. Pop on a flaming hot grill. Rotate after you see grill marks on the bottom. Take them off when grill marks are on the other side. 10 minutes-ish to cook.

Wild Rice with cranberries

Put the rice, broth and butter in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low and let cook for 20 minutes. Add the cranberries, sugar, and pecans and some salt if needed. Stir. Cover again and cook for another 30 minutes or until the rice is fluffy and you don’t see liquid bubbling around.

Bring the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil. Meanwhile stuff your your okra and jalapeno slices into the mason jar. Add in the dill, juniper berries, fennel seeds, and cayenne. Once the liquids are boiling, take them off the heat and pour into the mason jar until the dry ingredients are covered. Seal the mason jar closed and refrigerate for at least a week.